Monday, April 5, 2010

About Tea plant

Now the cheery trees are in full bloom, and I think this Sunday was the best time for cherry-blossom viewing here. Many people must have had parties at parks or viewing spots. Hiro and I wanted to go out, but we didn’t wanted to go to any major popular viewing spot, which must have be very crowded. So, we went for a walk to a riverside with lined cherry trees in our town yesterday. It was in late afternoon. A few parties were gathering. A little boy was playing baseball with his parents, and an elderly couple was taking around. It was really peaceful moment.

A friend of mine in Singapore, who read my blog about tea plane, asked me if you can grow a tea plant in a tropical climate like in Singapore.

I learned that green tea is produced in India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. I'm not so sure, but you may be able to grow tea plant in Singapore.

**Two major types of tea plant**Chinese type: shrub, Small leaf, growing in the Temperate zone, low in tannin, often used for green teaAssam type: tall tree, big leaf, growing in the Subtropical to Tropical zone, high in tannin, often used for English tea

I believe that most tea plants produced in Japan are Chinese type. It is said that about 80% of tea plant cultivated in Japan is Yabukita breed, which I bought (Picture above). Yabukita has been popular for early harvest, high-yielding, and the quality. But also it seems other miner breeds are getting popular now for their individuality. I guess the time is changing from mass production era to the time for diversity and individuality.

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I’m taking The Way of Tea lessons. I’d like to introduce what I learn in the lessons and what I think of casual Japanese tea in my blog. I hope you’ll find out what Japanese tea is like. Why don’t you give it a try?

I run an online shop; Everyone’s Tea for authentic Japanese tea wares all over the the world. I also provide more information about Japanese tea on our Facebook page.